mountain west

The Mountain West had a busy week of conference play this week and the race to the championship narrowed a tiny bit this week. Both Boise State and San Diego State had to face some adversity this week, as both games were probably a little closer than both teams would have liked. The Aztecs were in full control of their game with Fresno State but had to feel like that never truly put the game away. Donnel Pumphrey had another solid rushing performance for the Aztecs.

Boise State on the other hand got a scare from Colorado State, who kept the game reasonably close on the blue turf. The Rams threatened late in the game and closed it to within five points but after a botched last drive effort from Colorado State the Broncos were able to hold on. Boise State may see themselves jump a spot in the polls with a loss of Ole Miss to Arkansas.

New Mexico and Air Force put on a display of rushing offenses this weekend, but Air Force couldn’t come back from a New Mexico lead to win this one. The Lobos rushed for 373 yards on the Falcons who have lost for the second straight week after starting undefeated. Air Force got a big game through the air from Nate Romine, but it came up short. Not every day you see a team out-rush Air Force like the Lobos did, but sometimes those things happen.

Both Boise State and San Diego State looked a little vulnerable this past weekend. Both of their opponents were obviously inferior opponents. Should we be worried about the strength of the Mountain West? Boise State has a battle tested BYU coming to the Blue this week. I think that game may tell us quite a bit about the Broncos. Probably not going to learn a whole lot of San Diego State playing San Jose State except how many yards Pumphrey can run for.

Scores

New Mexico 45
Air Force 40

San Diego State 17
Fresno State 3

Colorado State 23
Boise State 28

Nevada 10
San Jose State 14

UNLV 41
Hawaii 38

Mountain West Player of the Week

Jeremy McNichols, running back from Boise State had 217 yards on 40 carries and two touchdowns as Boise State took down Colorado State on Saturday.

Mountain West MVP Candidates

Brett Rypien, QB, Boise State. 16/24, 207 yards, 1 touchdown.
Thomas Sperbeck, WR, Boise State. 5 catches, 72 yards, 1 touchdown.
Brian Hill, RB, Wyoming. Idle.
Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego State. 38 carries, 220 yards, 2 touchdowns.
Nate Romine, QB, Air Force. 12/24, 280 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Mountain West Power Rankings

1. Boise State
2. San Diego State
3. Wyoming
4. Air Force
5. New Mexico
6. Colorado State
7. UNLV
8. Hawaii
9. Utah State
10. Nevada
11. San Jose State
12. Fresno State

Looking Ahead to Week 8

The week will start off with BYU traveling to Boise to take on the Broncos on Thursday night on ESPN. San Jose State will head to take on San Diego State on ESPN2 Friday night. Hawaii will leap across the big pond to head to Colorado Springs to take on Air Force. Colorado State will take on UNLV. New Mexico and Louisiana Monroe will play a non-conference game this week in Albuquerque. Fresno State and Utah State will be on CBSSN. To cap off the week Wyoming will travel to Nevada in Reno on ESPN2.

Final Thoughts and Hot Takes

– BYU and Boise State could be a fun game on Thursday night. I would hope that Boise delivers a beat down in this one, but these two usually play pretty competitive games.

– Not sure how Colorado State kept their game against Boise State so close. Colorado State hasn’t looked great as of late, but somehow nearly pulled off a comeback against the Broncos.

– If you watched the end of the CSU/Boise game you got a glimpse of how awful Mountain West officiating can be sometimes. What an awful sequence to end that game.

– New Mexico upsetting Air Force was certainly a surprise I wouldn’t have guessed.

– Nevada and San Jose State played like they might be the two worst teams in the conference.

– Didn’t think UNLV would have the horses to get a win at Hawaii, but they somehow did it. Good win for Tony Sanchez’s crew.

– Big 12 meets on Monday about nothing.. just one more day for CSU and BYU fans to get their hopes sky high.